I have to admit that I am conflicted. I want to do my part for our legal system as others have done for me in my past. I have done this in the past and I was shocked about who they would consider a "jury of my peers".

I am currently on call for jury duty this week and it couldn't come at a worse time personally and professionally. My parents are in visiting from Seattle, my work load is overwhelming (100% commission so it WILL negatively impact me if selected) and I leave for a two week vacation in two weeks.

I am conflicted as to what to do if I am called in. Do I do my duty to my country or do I utilize one of the many tricks people share about getting out of jury duty? It is too late to postpone my service as it has to be done before the week you are on call.

fly135

06-21-2012 9:59 AM

Doesn't require much if a trick. Heck I kind of wanted to be on the jury and tried not to reveal too much. But I smirked when the prosecutor asked a question to everyone... "if it was illegal to touch a turtle, could you convict someone of touching a turtle". I thought it was funny because I had just moved a turtle out of the road a week before. Anyway she looked at me as asked what I thought was funny and asked me to answer the question. I said that if it was the death penalty for touching a turtle I probably wouldn't convict. Home I went.

06-21-2012 10:19 AM

Ive been selected 3 times in last 3 yrs. Each time I go in the courtroom and get dismissed after they find out I have family members in FBI and close ties with law enforcement guys in the area. Everytime Ive been out and on the water by 2pm.

grant_west

06-21-2012 12:17 PM

I have been used and abused 3 times. I to am afraid after seeing what a jury of my peers looks like. I have yet to be selected but each time I have been called I make it down to the 4 or 5 people in the room b4 they fill the Jury. Each time You can witness the "Jury dodger's" saying the right thing to NOT be selected.
What you end up with is people that #1 Either want to be their OR most commonly People that don't know how to get out of it filling a jury panel.
I saw People that could barley speak english getting selected and people that looked "Out of it" filling the Jury boxes. When I looked at the Jury's I said to myself/ STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. this would be the people that decide your Fate! All the more reason to not cross the line.
That should be part of the Scared Straight program Show potential youth in danger what Jury looks like and what kind of people would be deciding if they spent time in jail or not

cadunkle

06-21-2012 1:19 PM

Jury Nullification. Being on a jury, particularly when the State is the one pressing charges, and asserting jury nullification in a case where there is no victim and the law is unjust is one of the greatest honors and most selfless things you can do as a citizen in this country. It is also one of the few things you can do to influence the government and make positive change in the unjust system we have.

paublo

06-21-2012 3:52 PM

Last year my 25 year old daughter spent 7 months on a serial killer's murder trial. It gave me more faith in the system. She has a college degree, good job, is smart, and can see straight through the smoke that attorneys try to blow at you. The good part- the guy is getting the needle for 8 murders, the bad part- my poor daughter may never be the same. The graphic pictures and testimonies will never leave her head. But to have over 50 family members of victims come and thank you afterwards, barely able to get the words out, made it a little easier to swallow. This guy was already convicted on the rapes and was sentenced to over 300 years. But I think this was need for the victims that got away and for the families of those that didn't. It is not a perfect system, but I believe it is the best in the world. Even if you have to make sacrafices, do the duty whenever you can.

06-21-2012 3:54 PM

Holy cow...7 months! I feel bad now for complaining about my one day away from work.

humboldt9

06-21-2012 5:00 PM

Just served my Jury Duty on Monday, although I was excused without getting called into a trial. It's nice in So Cal they actually have free WIFI in the waiting rooms now. Are you sure there is no way to postpone if you really want to "do your civic duty." If you're honest enough to reschedule I would be suprised if they wouldn't accomodate the request. Agree, with some of the other members, there were some sketchy looking jury pool members.

wakeboardingdad

06-21-2012 8:27 PM

I've been called a few times and thought it was pretty cool, but was not chosen. I knew the family one time and the shaking of my head during the explanation of the case against the city for not picking up the trash that day - frivolous lawsuit - knocked me off the jury. So, I have been sent home twice and didn't even have to go once.

As far as your impact, that sounds difficult. You may want to call court and plead your case even though the date is past.

tings00

06-22-2012 8:24 AM

I was selected for jury duty a couple of years ago. Anybody that I mentioned it to would instantly try and give me tips to get out of it. I looked at it as people died to give me these rights and I can at least do it one time. I actually enjoyed the process. It was a pain missing 5 days of work and having to use personal time off for it but i dont regret it at all. If you really want to get out of it they make it pretty easy with some of the questions they ask.

phatboypimp

06-24-2012 6:29 PM

Luckily I never got called in. Thanks for your thoughts. I decided I would answer all questions honestly and ride it out.

wakejunky

07-26-2012 10:45 AM

I've been on two juries. Most resent, just two weeks ago. Here are some of my observations.
1.) People are stupid. I've never seen such stupid people in my life. Deliberations were so frustrating because people just don't get it. If you ever get in a position to have to go to trial, go ahead. People just aren't logical.
2.) They need to pick people who actually have a grasp of the english language. One person on the jury didn't understand english enough to really understand the case.
3.) If you ever get on a jury and the deliberations keep going in circles. Just call it hung. Because you're not going to change anybody's opinions, especially if they are really stubborn and/or don't understand english. In my case, the person wouldn't listen to reason so, we ultimately had a hung jury. When we went back to court to announce our verdict on two counts, DUI and driving while impaired. We convinced on one and hung on the other. And let me tell you the Attorney's and the judge gave us the look of "WTF" because it just didn't make sense.

If given the opportunity again, I wouldn't do. I've never been so frustrated with people in my life.

Tucker_McElroy

07-26-2012 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadunkle
(Post 1761716)

Jury Nullification. Being on a jury, particularly when the State is the one pressing charges, and asserting jury nullification in a case where there is no victim and the law is unjust is one of the greatest honors and most selfless things you can do as a citizen in this country. It is also one of the few things you can do to influence the government and make positive change in the unjust system we have.

This is basically how Prohibition was defeated - During Prohibition, juries often nullified alcohol control laws, possibly as often as 60% of the time due to disagreements with the justice of the law. This resistance is considered to have contributed to the adoption of the Twenty-first amendment repealing the Eighteenth amendment which established Prohibition.

My big Jury trails in a month, wondering if i should ,Just go with the Judge?

psudy

07-26-2012 1:44 PM

Thats scary.

ord27

07-26-2012 5:06 PM

I have wanted to serve, but when they discover that my brother is a cop and my dad was a District Attorney, I am always sent home.

acurtis_ttu

07-30-2012 7:06 AM

Da Mosse, Jury's are unpredictable...and are usually not your" peers" . Trial by Judge is more predicatble...and if your lawyer is connected...even better:)

steezyshots

07-30-2012 9:54 AM

I have never even been asked to go to Jury duty. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. With today's economy and huge number of unemployed I think they should draw from the people who are unemployment first before they go after those of us that are working and paying into the system.

colorider

07-30-2012 9:10 PM

I recently did some construction work in our county court house's Jury assembly room and got to see first hand all the people they selected.
Here are some of my observations. Pajamas are the clothing of choice for many to show up to a court house. English is not a requirement to be on an english speaking trail or jury. Smelling like you just rolled out of a bottle of wine or beer is a perfectly acceptable scent to show up with for jury selection. Being late or missing your selection date is NOT something you want to do. They take that seriously. I would have to say that 50% of the people there were degenerates. Then 25% average joes. The other 25% I would say were the working class. Looked like they were dressed, made up for work if they were allowed to leave.